Ten Things Tuesday: 10 things that made me smile

Yesterday I heard about a woman who at the end of every day lists ten good things that happened during that day. That made me start to wonder what would be on my list. Of course, then I started thinking about other lists (I love lists!). So I have decided to do Ten Things Tuesdays. To begin, here are ten things that have made me smile today:

1. Chick-fil-a. I live 9 minutes from Chick-fil-a, but it's 9 minutes in the direction I never drive, so yesterday I made the drive so I could enjoy the yumminess that is Chick-fil-a. This was yesterday, but I'm still smiling.
2. Cello case weight loss. I received a wonderful hard case and new cello for Christmas in 1997. After carrying the 25 pound load on my right shoulder for 12 years, I am now the proud owner of a soft case with backpack straps. It only weighs about 15 pounds and I can distribute the weight between two shoulders now.
3. Alphabetical Bible. One of my tasks each week is to proofread the scripture for Sunday morning. I was hunting for the book of Job and for a split second I tried finding it by alphabetical order. Just so you know, you will not find Job directly after Jeremiah.
4. Mannequins. I had the privilege of carrying a male mannequin torso through the church today. It's always fun to see the reactions.
5. Haikuesday. I thoroughly enjoy reading @jimmyfaseler and @ianspaterson Twitter Haikus.
6. Fruit Burritos. I love it when someone's comment on my status echoes what I was thinking as I typed it. Plus, I just love Melinda.
7. Sam's vitamins. Sam is an 81-year-old church volunteer with less-than-stellar hearing who takes about 12 pills a day. Someone asked if any of his pills were vitamins. His answer? Wednesday. I'm still laughing about that.
8. Freelance. I just finished up some freelance work and got my check today just in time to pay bills and buy groceries. That's definitely worth a smile.
9. Printing day. I worked for hours gathering, writing, and editing copy for our first monthly newsletter. Then I spent more time editing and re-editing. And, finally, it's printing day. That means it's out of my hands. That's a good feeling.
10. Sweeney Todd. As you walk through my church, you'll hear instrumental worship or one of about a thousand versions of Shout to the Lord, but when you step into the printshop, you are immediately greeted with the sounds of Sweeney Todd and a roaring printing press. That might explain a few things :)

Life on shuffle

I have about 4,000 songs on my iPod, so I am a huge playlist person. I have different playlists for different moods, different seasons, different times of the day, and even one for when I blow dry my hair. But sometimes I can't really pinpoint what kind of music I want to listen to, so I opt to listen to all of my songs on shuffle, which can be an experience that ranges from great to irritating. I'll get treated to some Coldplay, then a little Phil Joel, and maybe some Ginny Owens or Jimmy Needham. You can get a real groove going, and then the theme song to Reading Rainbow or Mr. Ed comes on or some lame rap or teen pop song that you unfortunately paid money for in the eigth grade. This always reminds me why I create playlists.

Life is like listening to your iPod on shuffle. You can't create playlists. You can't always weed out the jolt of unpleasantness. Sometimes when those groove-killing songs start playing, I run over to my iPod dock and skip to the next song. I've come to realize, especially over the last two weeks, that I can't hit the skip button in life. I just have to keep reminding myself that I'm on shuffle and something good has got to be coming up.

Tupperware Temple

We all look at the story in the Bible when Jesus cleansed the temple and think that we'd never make our church into a marketplace. Well, too late! I'm not talking so much about bookstores and coffee shops in churches because those generally don't make a profit (at least not at my church). I am, however, talking about the members who wake up on Sunday morning and forget their Bible but remember to bring their Pampered Chef catalogs and Premier Jewelry flyers. In the last three months, I have been invited to five Premier Jewelry parties and encouraged to purchase Pampered Chef on at least four occasions. All of this badgering took place while at church. When did retail become a focus at church? I do not go to church to buy heavy-duty spatulas, overpriced jewelry, or matronly handbags, and, frankly, I'm tired of having to dispose of flyers, invitations, and catalogs received while at church. To show my disapproval of this ridiculous new trend, I will take the most recently received flyer, wad it up, and dispose of it. What will this stand do? Absolutely nothing.

Know-it-alls

When did the all purpose response of "mhmm" or "uh huh" morph into "I know"? I feel like everyone around me responds with "I know." At first I just ignored it, but after three months of constant I knows, I have started challenging people on whether or not they really do know.

I am entertained by the people that can justify their use of the phrase. They make elaborate attempts at making their knowledge base weave together to indeed prove that they did know (even if they didn't really know). Kudos to them.

My real frustration lies with those whom I consistently debunk their knowing yet they continue professing that they know. These people are looking more and more ridiculous in my eyes.

Favorite "I know" conversation:

Knowitall: You don't want to buy that house you were talking about. It's a mess.
Me: You don't even know which house it was.
Knowitall: I know, but you don't want it.
Me: How do you know? You don't even now the address.
Knowitall: I just know you don't want it.
Me: No, you don't know.
Knowitall: Yeah, it's the one on 67th street with a sign.
Me: Nope.
Knowitall: Well, I just know.
Me: How in the world would you know? Unless you are psychic, you have no knowledge base for this! Oh my gosh, just admit that you don't know. (Yeah, I didn't really say this, but I really wanted to.)

Let's agree, world: You stop saying "I know" unless you are sure you know, and I will stop getting riled up over two little words.

Snapshots

I love looking at pictures, but they rarely tell the whole story of the people in them. I've noticed over the summer that you really only get snapshots of the people you encounter. Many times we make assessments of a person based on one snapshot or one encounter. Now assessments are being made based on one tweet, status update, or blog entry. How ridiculous to assume you know the true character of any human based on the less than 140 characters they provide on Twitter. It just reminds me that, like in pictures, you better smile because you never know who's looking. Let's all say cheese!

I'm an expert because I say I am

I received a request today to enlist the expertise of Individual A as I proceed with using Twitter, Facebook, etc. for marketing. Respecting the request, I began to investigate Individual A's online presence. The "expert" has been on Twitter for a month and a half and tweeted about 80 times and has no Facebook account that I can find. Using the logic behind calling Individual A an expert, I can claim that I am an uber expert. I have been on Twitter for a lengthy 2 1/2 months boasting 175 tweets and have been on Facebook for at least 4 years with a whopping 386 friends. I will now begin investigating my own consulting firm.